With Warm Faces
by MicaNgocLan
Summary: Written for the Word Count Game Challenge week 1. After the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Ginny and Luna plan a way to comfort Harry on their last evening at Hogwarts.


Her loose curls draped down her back to the stone bench she sat upon. Sitting on one foot, her other leg swung back and forth. She patiently waited for the portrait to move and reveal her friends. She was giddy with the thought of their surprise.

 _"Ginny, can you see them now?" Luna pondered as she had her back to Ginny. Her fingers laced at the small of her back as she gazed up_ in _the clouds._

 _Ginny looked up, tracing the curving wisps above. "I suppose I can't. I don't remember it… happening. It must've been around the time my ankle broke or something," she let out a great sigh. "Well, are the lanterns placed right?" Her wand floated the last one into place in the hollow of a trunk._

 _Luna spun on her bare heels with a wide grin. She slowly bent sideways to look at the scene with her hair trailing the dirt. She shot up with a nod. "I think the only thing to make it better is to see it at night."_

 _"Good. We should seal the lanterns in place," Ginny added. Standing together the two recited the incantation._

 _Once completed, Ginny chuckled at the sight of leaves tangled in Luna's hair and the dirt on her toes. She was about to flick the leaves out with her wand when Luna plopped onto earth. Her bright eyes peeked up through the tree canopies in a sweet daze. Ginny contemplated joining her or gathering their things for their last class. Luna's chest smoothly rose and fell as though she was sleeping. Ginny conceded to the sight and laid close enough that Luna's blond tangles tickled her cheek._

 _"Thank you for thinking of this. I think moments like these will be dire to us now." Ginny's voice wavered as she thought of the looming future._

 _"We have each other. That's all that matters," Luna replied tenderly, reaching to touch Ginny's fingertips down to the ridges of her palm. They continued in silence._

Ginny finally saw Ron come down the steps to the common room. Ron was alone. She rushed to his side to grip his arm. Ripped from his little world, Ron nearly tripped over his own feet before catching himself on the seat beside him. She whispered into his ear and gave him a shove back to the stairs. He groaned, stumbling forward. From across the way, he saw Hermione give him a scowl and straightened up to thump up the stairs.

Satisfied, Hermione followed Ginny out the portrait to find Luna sitting on the hallway bench. Luna hummed a sweet tune with one leg dangling off the bench, swinging back and forth. The tune stopped when she had the sensation of being watched. Glancing up, she was eager at the sight of Hermione and Ginny. She frowned when she saw no one following them.

"Where are Ron and Harry?" She asked nervously. Luna rose with her fingers laced behind her back.

Ginny shuffled to her side to explain, "They'll be down soon. You know how Harry's been."

..xXx..

Inside, Ron came to find Harry sitting at the edge of his bed. He was mindlessly staring at the setting sun beyond the window. The cuffs of his blouse were still unbuttoned, hair tousled, and his robe was crumpled into an indistinguishable ball under his bed. The first attempts to get his attention failed as Harry's green eyes were frozen to a distant scene. Ron felt the sweat through Harry's blouse as he shook him firmly. Awakened from his daze, Harry quickly excused himself and started to get dressed. Ron grabbed his robe and tried to remove dust from it with his wand. He settled with just brushing it off with his hand. Examining Harry, Ron realized he need to put his tie back on. Harry caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and thought of his dad's messy hair. His mind wandered further to the rest of the Marauders. Harry's fist clenched the wood of his headboard, and he slipped back to his daze.

The descent down the stairs was slow. In the common room some students stopped to look at Harry. He managed to cordially nod to everyone who stared. Ron shooed some away anyone who had a question on their lips. Rumors were buzzing to everyone's ears as the papers revealed Voldemort's return. After days of fighting people off of Harry, Ron was relieved to see that most were giving him the space he needed. Nothing could help the endless staring.

Harry and Ron were greeted by kind smiles outside and they could breathe again.

"Hey, Harry," Ginny said politely.

"Hey," he replied as Luna began to guide the group down the hall.

"It's good to see you," Luna uttered.

Making their way down the Grand Staircase, they exchanged mild pleasantries with students in passing. Harry's friends formed a ring around him. They moved through the crowds of students who were completing their last tasks before supper. Once the group flowed out to the grounds, little conversation was to be had with outsiders. Luna sped them to the trees as the sun was sneaking behind the hills. Once in the forest, Ginny stopped Harry, Ron, and Hermione and instructed them to only move further when called.

After no time at all, Luna and Ginny called them to continue forward. The trio move passed several more trees and came to a small opening. The stars were visible with some colors from the sunset. They were astonished to see floating lanterns lighting the whole area, up to the canopies. Luna casted a spell, that oozed a cloudy swirl from the tip of her wand. Light of the sunset and lanterns merged with the haze forming a golden, warm glow that enveloped them. Harry's melancholy eyes brighten.

Luna took his hand and guided him to an old tree with the center of the trunk hollowed out. Residing in the space was a lantern with red and gold detailing swirling throughout the paper. Ginny spun the lantern around revealing a picture of Sirius. She floated it to Harry who gently cupped it in his hands. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"None of us knows what will happen. But we have each other and that's all that matters," Ginny smiled, "Harry, we are here for you."

Harry looked around at the warm faces. A tear slid down his cheek to the earth. The lump in his throat forced back any sound from his parted lips. He settled with a simple nod.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Word count:1083 out of 1100

Word Count Game Challenge prompts

Ginny/Luna, Gryffindor common room, word: cloudy and late, object: lantern

 **Please leave reviews or PMs for any critiques.**


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